General - netMAGmedia Ltd

What can housebuilders do to recoup time and money from stalled construction sites?

Friday, 31st July 2020

As previously closed construction sites continue to gather momentum across the UK, housing developers and contractors will be looking for intelligent ways to recoup time and money after months of delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. Craig Andrews, Engineering Manager... View Article

ilke Homes to partner with Orbit to deliver its first MMC development

Thursday, 30th July 2020

Leading modular housing company ilke Homes will deliver 25 factory-built affordable homes to Wellesbourne, Warwickshire for Orbit Homes. The first deal of this wider partnership will see ilke Homes deliver superstructures, with Orbit managing on site development. Orbit, which creates... View Article

Construction Product Manufacturers to Increase Investment in E-commerce following Covid-19

Tuesday, 28th July 2020

Construction product manufacturers have signalled a shift in their investment intentions towards e-commerce sales as they respond to their worst quarterly performance since the 2008/09 recession. The poor performance for product manufacturers in Q2 of this year comes against a... View Article

Housebuilding slow-down could leave communities without say over new developments, councils warn

Tuesday, 28th July 2020

A slow-down in house-building due to the coronavirus crisis could see councils unfairly penalised, and communities denied a say in new developments under current planning rules, a new survey by the District Councils’ Network warns today. With construction on new... View Article

Redrow launches new nature-friendly biodiversity strategy in partnership with The Wildlife Trusts

Tuesday, 28th July 2020

Redrow launches its ‘Nature for People’ biodiversity strategy today, established as part of a long-standing partnership with charity The Wildlife Trusts. The strategy sees the housebuilder commit to objectives under three key themes – Nature Gains, Rewilding Lives and Flourishing... View Article

New methods of construction click into place with research funding

Monday, 27th July 2020

University of Wolverhampton academics have helped secure funding to accelerate research into Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and find solutions to the UK housing crisis. Professor Mohammed Arif, Dr David Heesom, Professor Jack Goulding, Dr Amit Kaushik, Dr Mandeep Saini,... View Article

RTPI publishes formal response to Climate Committee recommendations

Monday, 27th July 2020

Spatial planning must play a central role in reducing carbon emissions and adapting to climate change as part of a sustainable, resilient, inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has said today in its formal... View Article

CIOB Welcomes Government Proposals On Building Safety

Monday, 27th July 2020

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has welcomed the Government’s draft Building Safety Bill, which outlines the first comprehensive reform of building safety regulations since their introduction under the 1984 Building Act. There is likely to be substantive change across... View Article

100% affordable scheme in Ealing sold by MHA London

Monday, 27th July 2020

MHA London has today announced the sale of the former Goldsmith Arms on East Acton Lane, Ealing. The transaction took place despite disruption in recent months caused by the impact of Covid-19. Following approval of the development proposals in January 2020, this site will be redeveloped by a Housing Trust to provide significant benefits to the local community. The mixed-use, residential-led scheme will deliver 100% affordable... View Article

SAP 10.1 Changes the Heating Industry

Monday, 27th July 2020

From Ross Harrold, Marketing & PR, Electric Heating Company A large challenge faced by the Heating Industry was the methodology for SAP 2012, which was written six years ago. SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) is the methodology used to determine a... View Article

Green Homes Grant: more fiscal creativity needed to accelerate the way to net-zero homes

Thursday, 23rd July 2020

As part of his Summer Economic Update, the Chancellor announced a £2bn ‘Green Homes Grant’, as well as a £50 million fund to pilot approaches to decarbonising social housing. However, in order to achieve the Government’s target of “net-zero” emissions by 2050,... View Article

Avant Homes development set to move forward in Seaburn

Thursday, 23rd July 2020

Plans to build a community of stunning seaside homes have moved one step closer, after Avant Homes exchanged contracts on the purchase of land, as part of Sunderland City Council’s Seafront Regeneration Strategy. The North East housebuilder was granted planning... View Article

Planning permission vital to protect vulnerable people, says RTPI

Thursday, 23rd July 2020

Plans by the government, announced this morning, extending controversial new ‘rights’ to alter or replace buildings without the need for planning permission risk adding to the country’s already prevalent health and societal inequalities, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has... View Article

Adapting to change

Wednesday, 22nd July 2020

Though the construction industry is now back on site, Covid-19 has not left it unscarred. AO.com managing director Anthony Sant speaks to netMAGmedia’s Jack Wooler on how the virus has brought supply to the fore, and what the company has... View Article

A sticking plaster for construction’s recovery

Tuesday, 21st July 2020

James Parker looks at what the Chancellor’s Summer Statement means for construction Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s recent summer statement had the no-nonsense title of ‘A Plan for Jobs.’This signals the fact that the Government, whether or not you liked its handling... View Article

Unlocking Additional Returns Through Insulation Specification

Friday, 17th July 2020

There is little question that homebuyers place a premium on living space when choosing a property. The challenge for developers is how to deliver this whilst keeping the overall footprint of each unit as compact as possible. One solution is... View Article

Tackling tax: Considerations for developers and promoters

Friday, 17th July 2020

COVID-19 has led to many residential developers choosing to let their completed units rather than sell them, in the hope that the market will pick up as normality returns. Unfortunately, such a change of strategy isn’t always simple. Buying a... View Article

Home hunters given a boost with Stamp Duty holiday

Thursday, 16th July 2020

Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s landmark announcement of a stamp duty holiday until the end of next March is a huge boost for home buyers that will help get people moving and save movers thousands of pounds. The tax threshold for home... View Article

New affordable homes go local in the Isle of Wight

Thursday, 16th July 2020

Sovereign Housing Association’s building 24 new affordable homes in Shalfleet, on the Isle of Wight. This 100% affordable rural development will build a whole new community at the site, with 13 homes for affordable rent and 11 for shared ownership.... View Article

Lockdown sees a third of movers switch up priorities for future home

Thursday, 16th July 2020

A quarter (24%) of future home movers in the UK are reconsidering what they want from their next home1, according to leading UK housebuilder Redrow. The new analysis of over 2,000 UK adults’ reveals that COVID-19 has forced many to... View Article